A proposed project that would overhaul a part of the Ala Moana Shopping Center to add a 38-story hotel, as well as more than 200 residential units, is moving through the Honolulu City Council.
The project, 1588 Ala Moana, would replace an existing parking structure in the shopping center. About 35% of the residential units would be considered affordable housing units for families earning 80% or below the area median income for the next 30 years, which would be $123,200 annually for an average family of four.
The city’s Department of Planning and Permitting reviewed the project this past July, sending it to the council’s Zoning and Planning Committee for approval.
But many are questioning if the proposed affordable units would actually be accessible to local working families, including Honolulu resident Cassie Sun…